To Wed In Texas

TWENTY-THREE

DANIEL FORCED HIMSELF TO CLIMB THE STEPS TO his house. “My house.” He laughed. Without a church, this wouldn't be his much longer. Not that it ever had been. The preacher who built this place had been killed one night by what the sheriff claimed to be a stray bullet. The sheriff called in the Rangers to help with the crime and to insure the townsfolk would think he did all that could be done. After all, it didn't look good to have a preacher killed on the streets for no reason.

When Wolf investigated, he found the gun wall built into the preacher's new house. He suspected murder rather than bad luck. Wolf kept his find secret and wired for Daniel's help. They'd uncovered a great many problems in the months they'd been in Jefferson, but so far, no one had mentioned the hidden wall with enough artillery stored to restart the war in these parts.

What bothered Daniel more was the disappearance of the first preacher's mother. The night her son was shot, she seemed to have vanished. She'd been a quiet woman who kept to herself, but surely someone had seen her leave.

He sometimes caught himself glancing in corners, expecting to see her standing near or almost afraid to look up at an open window after dark for fear she'd be looking back.

Daniel shook off the feeling. This wasn't his house any more than Karlee was his wife. He slowly opened the door. No smell of coffee greeted him. Karlee wasn't up yet.

Painfully, he limped to the hallway and slid the panel open. The guns were gone. She'd done what he'd asked. Somehow, somewhere, she'd hidden the weapons. Until he knew which side they belonged to, it was safer if no one knew they existed. The searching of the house had been a close call. Too close.

He crossed to the open door of the parlor and saw his wife sleeping on his bed. With an exhausted sigh, he lowered himself beside her and rolled her into his arms as if he'd done so hundreds of times.

“Daniel?” she murmured.

“Shhhh,” he whispered, pressing his face against the soft warm smells of her hair. “Go back to sleep.”

She stretched, allowing him the length of her warmth and did as he requested.

Daniel plowed his fingers into the velvet of her hair and relaxed. The world could wait a few hours while he rested. He needed to feel her against him more than he wanted to admit. She'd slept in his bed as if knowing he'd return and find her. She anchored him to the only peace he'd found in months.

He brushed her hair back from her face. She was not a woman he'd have thought to court, even if he'd been looking for a wife. There was something a little unnerving about a woman tall enough to look a man in the eyes. Most women he'd felt like a giant around, always afraid he'd move too fast and accidentally step on them. Or put too much pressure in his grip when he touched them and crush their birdlike bones. But he didn't feel that way with Karlee. She seemed to fit by his side and in his life.

Running his thumb lightly over her full lips, he thought of kissing her. But he'd wait. He wanted her fully awake when he returned the passionate kiss she'd given him in the stockade. For now just holding her as he slept felt good.

He felt like he'd just closed his eyes when the shrill sound of a woman's voice shattered his dreams. “Oh, my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!” someone kept screaming as if it were a war hymn at benediction.

Daniel opened one eye to bright daylight as Karlee scrambled from his side. He wanted to pull her back, but couldn't clear his foggy mind fast enough to act on his thoughts.

The voice came closer. “Daniel McLain! You call yourself a preacher! You will rot in Hell! You and this worthless, homely cousin of mine!”

He put a name to the voice. “Gerilyn,” he mumbled as one might identify a plague.

“How dare you defile the memory of my dear sister by sleeping with another woman so soon after she died? And with her children just upstairs. The sin is unforgivable!”

“Gerilyn.” His voice grew stronger, and he managed to open both eyes.

“And you call yourself a fit parent. I've seen barn cats with more discretion.”

“Gerilyn!” Daniel's voice didn't rise, but became deadly calm. “Enough.”

“I'll not forget your sin so easily, Daniel McLain. You can't quiet me with a word.”

He faced her, now fully awake. “Would you mind telling me, dear sister-in-law, what is so terrible about a man sleeping next to his wife?”

Karlee finally found the nerve to look at Gerilyn. The woman's face drained of all color except the tiny round spots she'd painted on each cheek.

She raised one manicured hand. “You mean you married this… this…” Gerilyn shook her head so hard the perfection of her curls wilted. “You can't be serious.”

Bolting from the room, Karlee didn't need to hear more. She'd heard it all before. It made no sense that a handsome, kind man like Daniel McLain would marry her. And Gerilyn was the one person who must never know the truth of why he had. So Daniel would have to stand and take a listing of all Karlee's shortcomings.

Running into the kitchen, Karlee covered her ears, not wanting to hear what they said to one another. What did it matter why he married her? He was stuck with her, and Gerilyn would never let him forget it.

She lifted the load of dirty clothes and hurried outside. Today was laundry day, and she might as well get started. The feeling that if she worked hard enough and long enough eventually she would matter, kept her hands moving. If she did the chores no one else wanted to do? If she acted like she didn't mind when they laughed at her? If she…

Karlee shoved the first load of clothes into the pot of water and lit the fire beneath. She didn't want to think. It didn't matter that her hair flew around her wildly or that she scrubbed her knuckles raw. All that mattered was that she not think about what Daniel was telling Gerilyn. Or worse, what she was telling him.

As Karlee lifted the first load of clean clothes and moved toward the line, her foot caught on the hem of her skirt and she tripped, tumbling the clothes into the dirt.

For a moment, she waited, expecting to hear laughter from the house.

But all she heard was the sound of the door opening. Then Daniel knelt by her side helping her pick up the twisted balls of cloth.

“Don't,” she whispered fighting back tears. “I can do it.”

“Karlee?” He handed her a muddy shirt. “What is it?”

“I can do it. Don't help me.” She tried not to notice the question in his eyes.

“I didn't tell Gerilyn anything except that we were married.” Daniel was trying to guess the source of her distress. “And to mind her own business. But she never seems to hear that part of any discussion we have.”

“It doesn't matter what you said.” She grabbed the last of the once clean clothes. “Just don't help me. She'll be watching.”

“I don't care if she watches.” Daniel looked confused.

Karlee turned back to the pot and set the clothes down to be rewashed. “But I do. Don't you see, she'll say I couldn't do it right and you had to help me.”

“Well, if she's watching, we might as well give her something to see.” In one swift action, he swung her into his arms.

Karlee opened her mouth to protest as his lips closed over hers. His kiss was hard and determined. His arms tightened as he held her a few inches off the ground. She clung to him more from a need to balance than a caress.

Without releasing her mouth, he slowly lowered her back to earth. His hands drew her to him and she sighed as the kiss turned to liquid pleasure between them. Determination melted into desire. The kiss they'd both been thinking of, been wanting, since he'd been locked up could wait no longer.

Neither reacted to the slam of Gerilyn's upstairs window. They no longer cared. They were lost in one another.

Daniel moved his hands up from her waist to her arms and lifted them to encircle his neck. Then, he twisted his fingers into her hair and tugged gently. As her head arched back, her body pressed closer. She felt him rock slightly from the tender blow against his heart.

He broke the kiss, out of breath. “That should show her you do something right,” he mumbled.

She knew he wasn't thinking of Gerilyn's reaction, but of his own.

Pulled back, he allowed his fingers to linger as long as possible. “I only meant to kiss you politely. I'm sorry I got a little carried away.”

There was no doubt in his manner that he was a man never given to getting “carried away.”

She didn't know what to say. She'd never been sorry when he'd touched her and saw no need for him to be. “I love you, Daniel.”

“Don't say that.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “You're not making it any easier to walk away.”

She tilted her head slightly in question.

He frowned. “Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about.” He stared at her with passion still darkening his eyes. “About the time I think I have a handle on how it has to be between us, you get just a little too close. And then you smell like you do, all fresh and newborn. And you taste better than any woman should taste. It's like I can't get enough of you.”

When she didn't answer, he continued, “And the feel of you is maddening. Do you have any idea how good you feel in a man's arms? Soft as warm butter.”

His voice hardened. “And what right did you have of kissing me like you did when you visited me? There could have been people watching. That wasn't exactly a polite greeting kiss, Mrs. McLain. I lost more than one night's sleep thinking about it.”

Karlee shrugged, taking his criticism with a laugh. “How did I kiss you? Like you just kissed me? And there are folks watching, now.”

Daniel glanced at the barn. Half a dozen Germans smiled at him.

Stepping away suddenly, he seemed embarrassed at his own rambling. “I don't have time for such foolishness. I have to find Wolf before trouble breaks out. He needs to know what happened at Sandtown.”

“I can get word to him,” Karlee volunteered.

Daniel circled, staying a full three feet away from her. “Good. Send word for him to meet me here. I should be back by nightfall.” He glanced up at the closed window. “I hate to leave you with Gerilyn, but there are things I have to do.”

“I'll survive.” Karlee smiled with limited conviction. They'd given Gerilyn enough to keep her lecturing all day.

Daniel squared his shoulders. “I seem to be always thanking you. In truth, I wonder how I made it without you.”

She blushed. He couldn't have paid her a greater compliment.

He stepped a few more feet away. “Our marriage? It was a good bargain?”

She nodded. “A good bargain.”

He was gone without another word.

Karlee finished the first line full of clothes before the twins woke up and her day truly began. Gerilyn stayed in her room until almost noon. When she descended, she was ready for battle.

She played the perfect guest until lunch was served and the girls were busy playing on the porch, then she opened fire.

Karlee didn't mind the insults about her cooking and the poor quality of her housework. She didn't even mind the digs at how poorly she dressed and how nothing could make her hair better. But, finally, as the afternoon wore on, Gerilyn hit on what did bother Karlee. Like a hawk, she spotted the vulnerable spot and flew directly toward it.

By supper time, she'd explained in detail why Daniel would never want to have children with someone like Karlee. After all, she was already so large. Pregnant, she'd be a walking mountain. And no man wants ugly offspring. Especially not a girl child who might take after her mother.

But it wasn't just Karlee's looks Gerilyn patiently explained in detail. A man might overlook the “large bones” and red hair, but the lack of grace and quick thinking could never be ignored. Not only would his female children be unmarriageable, but his sons would be slow and clutsy with two left feet and a heritage of clumsiness.

Karlee wasn't to blame, of course. After all, her mother, though plain, had come from a good family. But she'd married a sailor. The whole family had known it was a mistake from the beginning. He was huge with knotted muscles and the inability to stand with his feet together like normal men do. He'd had red hair and a laugh that shook the house. No man of breeding would have acted as he did from the moment he saw Karlee's mother. It was a disgrace, Gerilyn assured Karlee. Neither of them cared a wit what anyone thought. They were dancing fools, drunk on love. They married without even a formal wedding. And of course, no one was surprised at their offspring. Karlee was doomed to have the worst of both parents. Her father's looks and her mother's slow wit.

Gerilyn kept on rattling as Karlee set supper by the stove. The house guest didn't see any need to wait dinner on Daniel, but also didn't seem surprised Karlee insisted. Karlee could almost feel her mentally listing just one more in a long column of sins that she'd relate in a letter to Aunt Rosy.

The twins played quietly with their dolls. They'd been told once too often by Gerilyn not to mess up the new dolls she'd given them. So her china-faced gifts lay on the table while they played with the family of rag dolls Karlee had made them.

Karlee excused herself, claiming she needed to freshen up. She could hear Gerilyn's advice on grooming as she hurried into the hallway and out the front door.

It was not full dark yet, but gray clouds made the air thick with promised rain. The whole world seemed to reflect Karlee's mood. She could hear thunder far to the north as though it were rumbling, churning before stampeding. The breeze caught her hair and lifted it, combing the first raindrops through curls.

On the silent, shadowy porch, Karlee took her first deep breath all day. She felt as if she were bleeding from a hundred tiny cuts over her body. Leaning against the house, she tried to relax and gather the strength to make it through the rest of the evening. Part of her wanted Daniel to return, part didn't know if she could bear for him to hear all the things Gerilyn said.

Karlee faced the wall and pressed against the wood, wanting, as she had since she was a child, to disappear. Why hadn't her parents taken her with them? Had they left her behind because she truly was the worst of them both? She pressed harder, wanting to move into the wood and never be seen again. Tears bubbled from her eyes as she let the weight of all her shortcomings settle on her. She'd been so busy these past few weeks she'd almost forgotten who she was. What she was.

A hand rested on her shoulder, so lightly at first she wasn't sure when it had appeared.

“Karlee,” Daniel whispered as he turned her around. “Don't lean into the wall. Lean into me.”

She folded into his arms without a word. How could she tell him all Gerilyn said? He could probably see for himself.

His strong, powerful arms closed around her so tenderly, she wanted to cry all the more.

He held her as she fought to control her breathing. He didn't say a word or tell her to stop. He let her cry without question, without reason.

When she finally stopped, she wondered if he had any idea what a rare gift he'd just given her.

With his arm around her shoulder, they walked inside. She didn't miss the way he let her take a little of his weight almost as though it were too much for him to handle any longer alone.

“Jesse Blair's brother died early this morning,” he whispered before they reached the kitchen door. “I've been out among the Rebs trying to stop a riot. If the doc hadn't convinced them Altus died of natural causes while in jail, I think they would have stormed the stockade.”

“Are you all right?” She could see the tired lines in his face.

“I will be soon. There's a meeting tonight somewhere near the Blair place. Can you get word to Valerie and ask her to sleep over in the twins' room? I'll need you with me.”

Karlee rested her hand on the kitchen door. “You forgot our house guest.” She pushed, and Gerilyn came into view.

“How could I forget?” he mumbled against her ear. “We'll wait and leave after the house is quiet. You will go with me?”

She wasn't at all sure why he wanted her along, but she nodded.

The twins ambushed him, drawing his attention as Karlee set the table. No matter how tired or what troubles he thought he had, his daughters lightened his load. Starlett filled the room with stories she'd dreamed up, and Cinnamon managed to hug him more times than he could count.

He hardly noticed Gerilyn complaining and was thankful when Wolf appeared at the kitchen door and drowned her voice out completely.

When the hairy man was invited to stay for supper, Gerilyn looked aggravated, as though she'd been asked to dine with dogs. Her irritation seemed to jolly up everyone else in the room.

Wolf made an effort to be the gentleman, doing his best to show her that he'd been raised with proper Kentucky manners. But she didn't seem interested.

Before the bread was done and on the table, Gerilyn had reverted to her favorite pastime of belittling Karlee. She even tried to enlist Daniel and Wolf in her endeavor.

“Have you ever seen a woman with such hair?” Gerilyn chimed into the men's conversation. “Unbelievable color. Simply unbelievable.”

Wolf growled at her, knowing there was an insult to his friend, but unsure where it lay hidden in her words.

Daniel didn't care what his sister-in-law said. What mattered was the way Karlee reacted. He watched as she pulled her hair back as if trying to hide it.

Gerilyn continued, “It's quite unfair, being blessed with a far from petite body and hair like that as well. Sometimes I think our Maker has no mercy. Don't you agree, Reverend?”

Daniel remained silent. He simply watched and remembered how he'd thought her hair had looked like velvet fire at dawn when he'd seen her standing outside in the wind.

Wolf wrinkled his brow and stared at Karlee as though it had been he whose opinion were sought. “I always thought red hair was pretty, different from the run-of-the-mill. As for her size. She seems the right size to me. At least she's not skin and bones.”

When Karlee glanced toward the hairy man, he winked.

Gerilyn looked down at her plate paying Wolf's praise no mind. “What is this, my dear cousin, a biscuit or a coal? I can't tell.”

Wolf reacted immediately. “Why, that's a biscuit, Miss Gerilyn. You must be getting where you need glasses. That happens when a woman gets to your age. There's nothing to be ashamed about. Now look closely. It's a biscuit, nice and done, just the way I like them.”

He leaned so close his shoulder brushed Gerilyn's. “If you ain't going to eat it, ma'am, I'll take it off your plate. I can't get enough of Karlee's biscuits.”

He said it so convincingly, Gerilyn's jaw dropped in a very unladylike manner.

Daniel saw the game. He grabbed a handful of the hot dough-centered rocks and laughed. “Wolf's right. Karlee makes the best biscuits I've ever eaten.” He'd pray later for the lie.

Karlee looked as surprised as Gerilyn as the two men almost fought over every dish she set on the table. They bragged and ate as if kings at a royal feast.

At one point, Wolf closed his eyes and moaned as he chewed a bite slowly. “This is the best fried ham I've ever tasted.”

“No,” Daniel argued. “I think the one she made a few nights ago was better. Though I'll have to have another slice to tell for sure.”

Gerilyn kept nibbling at her food, at first convinced they were mad but slowly, like a first-year student among masters, she tried to see what the men saw in Karlee's work of art.

By dessert, the men had put on quite a show. They both asked for a large slice of pie.

As she stood to oblige, the door flew open and Valerie blew in with the damp rainy air. Her black hair circled her like a cape and she carried a bundle half her size.

“Evening,” the girl said with a wide smile. “Ida's son told me you'd like me to spend the night with the twins tonight.”

“If you'd like,” Karlee grinned at the wonderful little girl who had become almost part of the family.

“I'd love to. Madre says she can teach me to cook, but I'm to ask you to help me with my sewing if you have a few minutes. I'm working on my graduation dress. I'll be finishing the eighth grade in a few months. At the rate I'm working on this dress I'll have to wear it at my wedding. Madre and Ida agree that you've got the finest stitch they've ever seen.”

Gerilyn raised her eyebrow at Karlee. “I truly doubt that to be so, Cousin… a fine stitch from such a large hand?”

Valerie might not yet be a woman, but the hot blood of her ancestors thundered in her veins full grown and exploded before Karlee could answer.

“Well, of course, it's so, lady. You don't think my madre is in the habit of lying, do you?” She stood with her hands on her hips, ready for a fight.

Wolf's laughter shook the room. “Now calm down, little Miss Valerie. We usually don't like to scalp guests until after dessert.”

Valerie stood her ground. Gerilyn tried to laugh, but kept the woman-child within her sights.

Daniel stood and pulled out a chair for Valerie near the twins. “Would you like to join us for some of my wife's delicious pie?” He bowed low as though seating a queen.

“No thanks,” Valerie answered politely, her blood cooling to kindness as fast as she fired when insulted. “After living around sweets all the time, I never eat them. Though I'm sure your wife's pie is as fine as her sewing.” She directed the last words to Gerilyn.

Gerilyn was wise enough not to answer.

Karlee opened the pie safe. She was warmed by their lies, but not as easily fooled as Gerilyn. In gratitude to these two wonderful men, she cut them large slices of the last of Granny's pie. Karlee cut Gerilyn a small slice of one she'd made.

This time the men's praise was loud and genuine. They did everything except lick the plate. Gerilyn forced down a few bites, complaining that she must be under the weather for nothing had much of a taste to her tonight.

As the meal ended, Daniel stood and crossed to a small box on the top cupboard shelf. “I've been meaning to give you this, Dear,” he said as he pulled something from the box. “You should have had it from the night we married.”

Gerilyn watched with great interest as he held out his hand to Karlee. A gold band rested in his palm.

“Surely, you're not giving her May's ring?” Gerilyn cried. “Not my poor, dear dead sister's ring? It wouldn't be right.”

“No,” Daniel answered. “I gave May's ring up long ago to save a woman's life.”

Karlee stared at the gift, speechless. Except for the tiny cross a teacher had given her once, she'd never owned a piece of jewelry.

Gerilyn had no such problem with talking. “Well, it's for the best. Karlee could never wear such a tiny ring as May's. Look at the size of her hands. Farm hands, my mother would have called them. Nothing but plain old farm hands. In fact, I'm sure no lady's ring will fit. You're wasting your time to even try putting it on Karlee.”

When Karlee didn't lift her hand, Daniel bent and gripped her fingers. He slid the ring on her third finger. It fit perfectly.

“This was my mother's ring,” he said simply. “She was as fine a lady who ever lived. She'd be happy to know you now have her ring, Mrs. McLain.”

Karlee stared down at the band of gold. Nothing Gerilyn could say would hurt her now. Daniel had just given her all the armor she needed.